Parents' Evening
by LoonyLoopyLupin96
Summary: Sirius' mother doesn't know that he was sorted into Gryffindor the previous year, what other revelations will be unmasked during the annual Hogwarts Parents Evening?
1. Chapter 1

Remus watched as James entered the Great Hall, followed by a considerably young looking woman and a man with the same messy black hair. The woman had hair of a dark red colour, cropped neatly around her ears and neck. Her glasses, rectangular and brown, made her look more like a muggle secretary than a witch.

Spotting Remus, James moved away from his parents to go over and join his friend.

"That's my mother you're ogling at," James said as he neared his friend.

Remus turned his attention to James, "I was actually looking to see where your behaviour and looks came from."

"Ah, I see. Checking out my dad, instead?" James went on with a mischievous grin.

"Sod off," Remus answered, shaking his head in amusement.

"Got any bad reports yet?" James asked him after a moment.

A sceptical expression fell across Remus' face as he looked at James, "Do you think I would? Only Professor McGonagall telling my parents I need to keep a tighter leash on you two."

"A tighter leash on us?" James asked in mock amusement, "I'd always thought you were the one with the animal side to you."

Grinning, Remus turned back to his parents who were looking down a long list of teachers' names, and scanning the Hall as they tried to put a name to a face.

Parents Evening for the students of Hogwarts wasn't as exciting as one may have thought. If anything, it's quite a similar set up; teachers stationed around the room as parents rushed in with their child trailing behind them, cutting into the cue. The only difference between the two would be the noticeable outrage of the Slytherin purebloods sticking their noses in the air as they walked past the odd muggle hanging about the place.

"Oh," James said, causing Remus to turn back, "Are you going to see Dumbledore?"

Naturally, the Headmaster wandered through students and parents alike, every now and then. He was seldom stopped, if only for a sibling of a witch or wizard to ask him about his beard, or if he was in any way a relation to Santa Clause.

Remus nodded, "Got to. 'Furry problem' and all."

This time it was James' turn to grin as he thought about the adventures the four of them had had not so long ago on the full moon.

"Do your parents know we know?" James asked, his grin faltering to enhance the sincere note in his now hushed tone.

Remus shook his head, casting an anxious glance at his parents before answering, "No. Though I don't doubt they'll find out when we go and see Professor Dumbledore."

"True, true," James replied, nodding as his attention turned to scanning the crowd gathered within the room.

"He's not here," Peter said, approaching them from behind. Behind him, looking on proudly as their son approached one of the most popular people of the year, stood Peter's parents. His father, a man with a great amount of facial hair, though nothing in comparison to that of the headmaster's, stood beside a short, stocky woman, that could only be Peter's mother.

"Who, Sirius?" Remus asked.

"Yeah," Peter clarified with a swift nod.

"He said he'd be coming, though," James answered with a frown as he continued to scan the Hall.

"Maybe he didn't tell his parents the right date," Peter suggested casually, before becoming somewhat uneasy under the calculating gaze of James.

After a moment, James issued his response, "That's likely. But we had a great prank idea..."

"I hope you didn't," James' father said from behind him.

With a wink to Remus and Peter, James turned to his father, "Of course not," he said with a grin.

James father proceeded to ruffle his son's hair, causing James' cheeks to turn noticeably scarlet.

"Come on," James' mother said as she looked at their company, "Which one's Sirius?"

Peter and Remus looked from one another to James' mother. Peter's gaze earned him a kick from James, as Remus rolled his eyes before answering her, "He isn't here yet. I'm Remus."

Remus offered his hand to both James' mother and father, and it was clear that both of them were surprised that James had befriended such a polite young boy.

"And he's Peter," James announced, landing another kick at Peter who turned his attention to the conversation and nodded.

"Remus," a gentle voice called from not too far away.

John Lupin made his way over to the group, accompanied by his wife.

"It looks like Professor Dumbledore is free, now," Remus responded to his mother.

"Alright, we'll go there now," Remus' mother agreed as she began to retreat.

"I'll see you later," Remus said to his friends before retreating to where the Headmaster was stood stroking his beard as he spoke to Remus' head of house.

"Who were they, son?" John asked his son with a flick of his head towards the company they had just left.

"James and Peter," Remus said, not failing to smile widely.

"Wasn't there another friend of yours?" Remus' mother asked him.

"Sirius," Remus answered with a nod, "But we're not sure where he is, just yet."

"He'll be here in a moment," Professor McGonagall said in response as the Lupins neared her and the Headmaster.

"Ah," Professor Dumbledore said as he removed his hand from his beard and offered it in turn to both of Remus' parent, "Mr and Mrs Lupin, we meet again."

"It's good to see you," John said as he shook the Headmaster's hand.

"And you," Albus said with a smile as he led the three of them away from the Gryffindor head of house' table as another parent approached her.

They surpassed Professor Slughorn's table without a second glance, excluding the brief nod the Headmaster issued him.

Coming to a stop by an empty number of seats, Professor Dumbledore motioned for the three of them to take a seat.

"There isn't too much to say, really, that you haven't heard from any other teacher," Professor Dumbledore began almost immediately.

"In that case, allow me to thank you once more," John began, but Professor Dumbledore raised his hand. The gesture was somewhat familiar to Remus who knew, from experience, that his father would soon fall silent.

"There is no reason to thank me at all," he said, before glancing curiously at Remus who was shaking his head.

"I ought to thank you for the opportunity to come here, Sir," Remus said, "I don't know what I would have done without-"

"Without meeting those friends of yours, I'm sure," Professor Dumbledore finished with a smile.

"James, Peter and Sirius?" Remus' mother clarified.

"The very same," the Headmaster nodded.

"Will Sirius be along soon, Sir, do you know?" Remus asked him politely.

"It wouldn't surprise me if he were here already, planting dung bombs under the floorboards or something," Professor Dumbledore answered with a twinkle in his eyes.

Remus shuffled uneasily with the knowledge that that had been both he and his friends' plan for the evening.

"Do you think the three of them would be trustworthy enough to be told about Remus' c-"

Once again, the headmaster raised his hand.

He motioned for Remus to do the honour of divulging the information.

"They figured it out themselves," Remus said quietly.

"What? All of them?" Mrs Lupin asked in surprise as she cast her mind back to Peter, who she was sure would be unable to notice the difference between a ghost and an inferi.

"Well, Sirius really," Remus answered her, turning to look at her finally.

"I would quite like to meet this 'Sirius,'" John said, as his wide nodded in agreement, "He sounds to be quite a character."

"Oh," the headmaster nodded in agreement, "That, he-"

The rest of the headmaster's words were drowned out as the entire Hall fell silent. Silent, except for the shrieking of a rather old individual.

"What do you mean you're not my son's head of house?!"

As each head turned to look over at the commotion, Horace Slughorn was looking quite shaken and unnerved as he looked up into the face of the woman.

Almost immediately, Remus' eyes met the boy beside her, and offered him a nervous smile, along with a gulp of his own.

"Well, that's Sirius," Remus whispered to his parents, his voice shaking slightly with apparent fear.

* * *

**To be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

"I simply mean that I am the head of Slytherin house, Mrs Black," Professor Slughorn confirmed with a rather anxious glance at Professor McGonagall nearby.

"We're Blacks!" Walburga pointed out, still shrieking at the man she usually addressed on great terms.

At this, Sirius rolled his eyes and failed to hold back his 'tsk' as she announced their name as though it made them royalty.

Boring daggers at her son, instead, Walburga Black opened her mouth to begin a sharp, whispered conversation that would tell Sirius exactly where his place was in their family. Instead, Sirius pushed himself off the table he had been subtly leaning upon – earning him another glare as his mother whipped her head around to ensure the uncivilised actions of her son went unnoticed – and turned addressed his mother.

"Dearest mother," he began with something like a sneer, "I do not regret to inform you that I failed you yet again."

Around the room from Sirius' friends and his Head of House came pitiful 'tut's and shakes of heads as they couldn't help but listen to the ongoing conversation.

Waving a hand to silence those who actually cared, Sirius continued.

"If you'd like a report on the achievements of myself and my friends of this year, you are better to go and address Professor McGonagall," he dramatically motioned to his Head of House on the table nearby, before pausing for a moment, his eyes screwed up in thought, "Unless, that is, you want to hear about how James and I frequently enjoy blowing up the cauldron belonging to that slimy git."

Sirius finished his little speech gallantly by pointing directly at Severus Snape who had, just at that precise moment, entered the Hall alongside a sharp, pasty looking man who could only be his father, and a rather shallow looking woman that was, of course, his mother.

"Black," Professor McGonagall chastised firmly, yet with a soft edge of pride at her student's own pride of belonging to Gryffindor house, as opposed to Slytherin.

"McGonagall?" Walburga spat, turning to look at the woman she thought was stealing her occupation at chastening Sirius' antics.

Professor McGonagall nodded resolutely, "Head of Gryffindor house. Now, as you'll undoubtedly know, your son-"

"Was sorted into a house full of mudbloods," Walburga replied, looking around at the people in the room and spotting Lily as she spoke hurriedly to Severus – no doubt trying to distract him from Sirius' earlier comments, "And blood traitors alike," she went on, spying a greater number of muggle related wizards and witches than she would have liked to have done.

Obligingly, Professor Slughorn rose from his seat, "Mrs Black, that is-"

"Filth!" she finished, pulling her bag on her arm properly.

As Sirius looked around the room, head high in his determination to look unphased, he noted James looking aghast at the declaration regarding his beloved 'Lily flower.'

"Wouldn't surprise me if you allowed animals in here too," Walburga muttered, though it was still sort of a shout.

"We're going, now..." Sirius tried to take control when a pair of anxious amber eyes met his, barely noticing his mother turned around – until her hand make harsh contact with his face as she did.

"And you!" she declared, "Are a disgrace! No wonder you didn't tell me about this. I dread to think what else you've kept from me about this!"

A surprised look still on his face, as his left cheek began to match his right in a startling crimson red due to embarrassment, Sirius failed to respond to his mother's tirade.

"Don't even think about returning home," she went on in a rather low, icy voice before adding, "Even summer's six weeks is too long."

If anyone had dared to try, one would surely have heard a pin drop in the room as Walburga pointed out how much of a disappointment her son was.

Her ramblings continued in French, understood by only 3% of the people in the room. One of those was Severus Snape, who wasted no time in translating the key parts to Lily.

"Mrs Black," Dumbledore said in a clear voice, as everyone turned to look at him, "May I have a private word with you. In my office?"

Turning to look at the Headmaster – a man, it seemed, she hated almost as much as Sirius himself for allowing this to happen – Walburga pulled a face, before stalking out of the Hall, Dumbledore swiftly behind her issuing apologies now and again.

The room remained completely silent as the two left, and everyone seemed to look back at Sirius.

Realising this, Sirius made to follow them out of the door.

"Remus," John Lupin said quietly.

Struggling to turn his gaze away from his friend, Remus merely responded, "Yeah?"

"Go after him."

Needing no other urging Remus rose from his chair and, with a controlled breath, marched down the Hall after Sirius.

Gradually, people began to mutter about what had just happened. Professor McGonagall also, turned to address Professor Slughorn in regards to the event.

Remus' parents remained stationed in their seats, each of them looking at one another with a fixed look of surprise plastered on their faces.

Peter instantly made his way over to James, as always happened when Peter wasn't sure how to go about something else.

"Aren't you going too?" Peter asked James.

Realising that Peter was beside him, James tore his gaze away from Lily and Severus together by the door, taking a moment to even realise that Sirius had left the room and that people were talking again.

"No, no," James said eventually, shaking his head.

"Should I...?" Peter asked carefully.

Again, James shook his head, "Let Remus deal with this."

"But we're Sirius' friends too..." Peter pointed out.

With a frustrated sigh, James turned his full attention to Peter momentarily, answering him swiftly, "Yes we are. But Peter, I think Remus is the only one who can calm him down after this."

Peter frowned, "Sirius is fine. I mean, I know his mum slapped him, but he didn't look any different to normal – he was fine."

Clapping a hand to his friend's shoulder, James rolled his eyes, "And that there, is the reason Remus is the one going to help him."

* * *

**To be continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

It would have been fairly easy for Remus to find Sirius - despite the great lengths of the school's corridors and the vast amount of secret passages and rooms – even if he hadn't left a trail of destruction on his way.

As he followed after his friend, Remus shook his head at the number of times he had to pick up some ancient artefact that had been knocked over in Sirius' anger.

Bang!

Remus flinched as a door in an adjacent corridor was banged shut. Abandoning the remaining things strewn across the place, Remus picked up his pace to follow Sirius.

Reaching the classroom commonly used for their Transfiguration lessons – a place Walburga Black wouldn't even want to enter with its connections to the Gryffindor house – Remus paused. His friends' growls and mutterings could be heard through the door, though Remus knew Sirius was talking to himself. He wondered whether or not he should let Sirius calm down alone, but before he knew it he had turned the handle carefully and entered the room.

Surprisingly, the room was well and truly intact.

"I wouldn't trash a Gryffindor room," Sirius explained. Though his back was towards Remus, he must have known how Remus' eyes scanned the room in bewilderment, before resting on the boy before him.

It had been a great idea for John to suggest Remus followed his friend, but now that he had caught up to him he had no idea how to proceed.

Before Remus could decide, Sirius turned slowly around. The first thing that his Remus was his friend's appearance; The startling shade of pink upon Sirius' cheeks wasn't what had surprised Remus so much.

Sirius Black was never one to cry; a fact he had pointed out to the Marauders on a number of occasions. And so the fact that Sirius was stood there; a number of tear tracks streaking his face, dark eyes looking back at Remus, was what had startled the latter the most.

Resolved, Remus drew out a chair for Sirius, before perching on the edge of a desk himself.

Remus' lips parted, but before a word could escape them, Sirius spat, "I'm fine."

Raising a sceptical eyebrow, Remus was given no room to respond as Sirius spaced out, and launched back into his rant.

"...And she wonders why I never told her!" he shouted, causing Remus to jump, "And in front of everyone too..."

Remus, realising he wasn't going to get a decent response, challenged, "I didn't think you minded having an audience for things."

"Not for this!" Sirius shouted once again.

Remus didn't respond, but with Sirius' response he knew what it would take to get his friend to relax further, get it all out of his system.

"I'm not bothered, anyway," Sirius went on, talking to the wall across the back of the classroom.

"Really?" Remus asked with a sarcastic, sceptical manner.

"No," Sirius answered all too quickly, "I'm nothing to her, I'd like nothing more than to be able to have it out with her for good."

"Is that why you're hiding in the classroom of the head of our house?" Remus asked.

As Remus had suspected, Sirius faltered and slipped into the chair Remus had drawn earlier. He didn't speak for a moment, instead he released a long sigh, stretching out his fingers before burying his head in his arms, against the desk.

"My own mother," he whispered; his voice muffled slightly against the desk.

With a pained glance across at Sirius, Remus drew out his own chair and sat beside him.

"Did it hurt?" Remus asked.

"Oh no, time of my bloody life," Sirius answered, looking up from his hands to glare at Remus.

Unphased, Remus nodded, "I meant when she..."

"When she hit me, yeah?" Sirius asked.

Remus' eyes flickered to Sirius' cheek and he was actually startled to find a short scratch there too, just by his ear.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," Remus said, looking back into his friends' eyes.

Sirius scoffed. After this, he did not fail to notice the flicker of hurt beneath his friends' gaze at the dismissal.

"I don't know what to do," Sirius said eventually, avoiding Remus' gaze. If there was one thing he would never have allowed himself to do, it was to admit defeat. And yet here he was...

"We'll get through it. You, me, James and Peter," Remus said, as though he could read Sirius' mind he added, "She'll be the one defeated."

"It'll be years before she's in her grave," Sirius pointed out.

"Which gives us years to be triumphant," Remus answered, trying to appear as though wishing death upon his family members were not a bad thing, "Just go back, head high; As though she didn't bother you," Remus suggested. He began studying Sirius to see the effect his words had taken.

"But she did."

It was with those three words that Sirius offered a piece of his heart to Remus; The openness of how he felt, and how his mother had actually hurt him.

Still revelling in the things his mother had done, Sirius awaited a response from Remus, and was surprised – to say the least – when he felt soft, warm lips against his.

To begin with, Sirius neither issued restraint nor willingness; instead, he remained rather still in his surprise.

Sirius' eyes met Remus', and it was then that Sirius realised what was going on.

The warmth and comfort of Remus' lips was enough to bring Sirius back to the present, and past the stage of horror at his mother's actions. All traces of his mother left his mind; it was now the shock of what he and Remus appeared to be doing that surprised him.

It took Sirius longer than he would have liked to admit, to pull back, pushing back his chair as he did so, before standing up.

Remus sat back in his own chair, looking up at Sirius. It wasn't fully fledged rejection, but it was enough to keep Remus quiet; back in his usual place.

The optimistic part of Remus, usually only used on others, told him that he had achieved what he was there for; to bring Sirius back to life, so to speak. But the rest of him was still wondering what had actually driven him to do what he had done.

"I need to go," Sirius said quietly, issuing a confused glance at his friend before leaving the room.

When Remus returned to the Hall, he found that most of the parents had gone – a week of vacation ahead of them, from school for the Easter.

Sirius lingered over by his head of house, Remus noted, talking to James' parents, as the two boys talked to one another.

"Come on, Remus," a voice said from behind him.

Reluctantly looking away from his friends, Remus turned to see his mother and father.

"We'll have you home for the first week, as planned," his mother clarified, smiling kindly at her son.

"And then I come back to school for the second week?" Remus asked, clearing his voice part way through as he realised how afraid and strange he sounded.

"Yeah," John nodded, before setting a hand on his son's back, directing him out of the Hall.

Issuing a glance over his shoulder, Remus' eyes met Sirius', who looked away almost instantly.

Okay, now the apparent rejection was clear.

Turning back Remus shook his head as he fell into a deep thought.

Merlin could only guess what would happen after he got back to school.

* * *

**To be continued...**


	4. Chapter 4

The first few days of the holiday had passed by all too slowly, almost as though the days were helping Remus stall for time; give him time to conjure up something that he could say to Sirius.

Sirius; whom he hadn't heard from at all. Nor had he sent anything to neither James, Sirius nor Peter, so he couldn't blame them; he was trying desperately to avoid thinking directly about what had occurred; hoping that things would move on, rather than escalate and cause trouble.

The fourth day looked to go almost as slowly as the three before it, and Remus began as he did everyday - studying.

He would jot the words down, one by one in his small, fashionable scrawl as his mind reeled over what else he could have written.

Twenty minutes passed, and a foot of the parchment had been filled.

Fifty minutes had passed, and Remus was part way through his third foot of information.

Just as he was arriving at his conclusion, Remus' father called his name from downstairs.

With an obedient sigh, Remus dropped his quill at his desk, and hastily shuffled his notes in order, before pushing out his chair. After successfully pushing his chair through the thick, green carpet, Remus made his way down the stairs.

As Remus approached the kitchen, he heard his mother leaving through the back door.

"Your mother's just getting some more bananas, to go with your lunch," John pointed out.

Remus nodded, his eyes flickering over to where a new, unopened pack of bananas lay in the fruit ball on the table. Suspiciously, Remus nodded again, waiting for his father to speak.

John didn't say much as he proceeded to collect the butter knife and begin buttering slices of bread, leaving his son to stand looking around the kitchen in question.

With a sigh, Remus realised that if he wanted to finish his essay before nightfall, he would have to start the conversation.

"What-"

Both Remus and John stopped, having both begun to talk at the same time.

"Go on, Dad?" Remus prompted.

Shaking his head, John said, "I was only going to ask what you'd been up to this morning."

"Ah," Remus began, "Doing my Charms essay."

"Charms…" John repeated, eyes glazed over somewhat, "I remember sitting in Charms class. Your mother's best topic, you know."

Having heard the story on numerous occasions before, Remus merely nodded.

"Such fun we had..." John went on.

Remus allowed his father some time to dwell on the past, before deciding that his Charms essay wouldn't finish itself, and saying, "Am I alright to go and finish off the essay, then?"

Gathering courage, John turned to Remus as he began to turn away.

"Hold on, a second," John said.

"Yeah?" Remus asked, just as John had said, "I need to talk to you about Sirius."

Remus froze.

John, meanwhile, had pulled out two elegant mahogany chairs, from beneath an odd Oak table. Sitting down with a sigh, he motioned for his son to do the same.

"What about him?" Remus asked after an uncomfortable silence.

"What happened when you went to see him?" John went on, a piercing green gaze settling on Remus.

Squirming slightly, Remus frowned, "What do you mean?"

John frowned slightly, wondering if his son was being this dumbfounded on purpose. Ignoring the small voice in his subconscious, telling him he may not want to know if Remus' act was on purpose or not, John ploughed on.

"Well, he came back into the Great Hall, so you must have done something right," John prompted.

'Something right, or something that had him running for cover,' Remus thought to himself.

The self doubt was clear to John as he looked thoughtful for a moment.

In the silence, Remus contemplated what he would do when it came to talking to Sirius once he'd got back to school.

"Well?" John asked eventually. He had been watching Remus as he thought deeply, wishing to know what was on his son's mind - as his wife had prompted him to ask.

"He was just hurt by what she'd said," Remus shrugged, "What with her being his family and all."

The carelessness in Remus' tone in no way reflected how he really felt; he cared a great deal for Sirius, as he had shown.

Once more, Remus stopped himself from thinking directly about the kiss - he still wasn't sure what had prompted him to do it.

"Remus," John said in a voice that was almost stern, "What's happened?"

"What do you mean?" he responded uneasily. His eyes cast downwards to avoid his father's gaze, Remus really did not want to face the music of what had occurred.

"Dammit!" John snapped, clamping his mug down harshly onto the table.

John Lupin seldom got angry, even after everything Remus had put them through (in Remus' perspective) he hadn't snapped once. So, why now?

Startled, Remus looked up at his father who, it seemed, almost regretted his shout.

"I'm sorry, really," Remus soon found himself saying, "But I don't know what more you want me to say."

Remus had always been rather dismissive in the way in which he'd say whatever the opposition wanted to hear, just to get an awkward or upsetting conversation out of the way - commonly regretting it, too - and so this was why John was so surprised at his son's stubbornness.

"Just…the truth?" John suggested.

Remus muttered something under his breath as he realised that he wouldn't be getting out of the conversation anytime soon.

"What was that?" John asked.

With almost a glare, Remus fixed his eyes upon his father's as he repeated, slowly, "I…kissed-"

John tried to - unsuccessfully - mask his sharp intake of breath.

"-him," Remus finished.

Remus, immediately regretting his words, made to stand up but was stopped with his father's forceful arm holding him back.

"Why?" John asked.

It was the question that Remus had been forcing himself not to think for the days since the kiss, he didn't know why he had done it at all. Though having said that, he wasn't sure if he wanted to face the reality of why he had done it.

The conflicting thoughts whizzed through Remus' mind as the silence stretched across the room.

"I haven't figured that out, yet," Remus answered honestly.

John nodded, as though he had been predicting that.

"What happened?" John asked again, making Remus wonder if his father wasn't just simply programmed to ask the same things over and over.

"I just said…" Remus clarified awkwardly, studying his father once more. He wasn't surprised to find a rather embarrassed tint to his father's cheeks; encouraging him to end the conversation soon.

"No, no," John answered, shaking his head, "What did he do?"

Remus shrugged non-committal, "Got up and left. He 'had to leave.'"

A flicker of hurt flashed on Remus' face as he said it, as if the lace of bitterness hadn't emphasised it enough, and Remus didn't bother to look up to see his father's pity.

"It must have been a surprise for him," John said, almost encouragingly, "I mean, on the one hand," John opened a palm, emphasising his point, "He has his mother telling him how much she hates him, and then on the other hand he has his best friend showing the entire opposite."

Remus had to admit, with a subtle nod, that his father made sense.

"Trust me, I'm an expert," John added, with a kind smile.

Reading into the statement, Remus frowned, "Huh?"

The flush on John's cheeks was even more pronounced as he answered, "Let's just say it's not the first time I've been involved in a situation like this."

Remus' eyebrows; raised in upmost surprise.

His father went on, "It must be some sort of Lupin-..."

As his father struggled to find the right word, Remus suggested, "Curse?"

John raised an eyebrow to this - the term was usually only used when discussing Remus' lycanthropy.

"I don't know if it's that bad," John clarified, but nodded as he said, "But we'll roll with it."

"So what happened?" Remus asked, being careful not to forget the matter at hand.

John swiftly looked away; his eyes boring holes into the tiles as he spoke, "My friends and I; we were quite a bunch. Hard working; decent folk. Like your mother - or maybe _for_ your mother - Charms was my personal forte."

Remus prepared himself for another Charms tale, and was therefore surprised when his father continued with a chuckle.

"Funnily, that was one of the things a friend of mine told me," he said, "That the reason I was good at Charms must have been a relation to my natural charm."

John flushed at the remembrance, before remembering the point of the conversation, and continued;

"My friends had set me up on a date with your mother, or so they had told me. Most beautiful young woman I had ever seen…well, McGonagall came at a close second. So young back then…"

The sincerity, with which John spoke, left Remus wondering if his father was serious or not.

"Anyway, so I was there, waiting for your mother and I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when she entered the Three Broomsticks with Orion Black!"

This news was enough to divert Remus' attention from the point at hand, "Sirius' dad? Mum dated him?"

John grinned at his son's horror, "My thoughts exactly, but apparently that wasn't the case. Strictly business, I've been told."

Remus briefly thought that if his father believed that, he'd believe anything.

"But anyway," John went on, "I thought I'd been stood up. Even as my friend, Horace, sat down I- No, not Slughorn," he added at his son's obvious question, "I thought he was just keeping me company," he went on, "That was, until he told me…a...uh...great number of things. Including the cheesy 'Charms' line. Despite the latter, I knew he'd been building up to it for a long time..."

Though John hadn't clarified it, Remus could easily assume what the topic at hand had been.

"But I had to turn him down - I really did love your mother," John concluded.

"You turned him down?" Remus asked, not able to hide the worry in his voice.

John nodded, "I was never that way."

The lack of disgust in John's voice was equally encouraging to Remus, and he listened intently as his father went on.

"What I mean is that when you and Sirius do have your conversation about birds and bees…"

Remus flushed, refusing to acknowledge that.

"Be prepared for it; be ready for the worst outcome, but still hope for a better one. If he's a real friend, he'll understand; just give him time..."

—

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Parents' Evening

"I guess we'll see you in another few months, then," John said, clapping a hand to his son's shoulder as they stood at the train platform, "Try not to eat too much chocolate."

Remus laughed along with his father; his lips turning up at the sides, despite the darkness set in his eyes.

The week from school hadn't been one of his finer ones; each living day was spent studying, though each thought led him to think of Sirius and the others back at Hogwarts. Them, though each night was supposed to bring him comfort, he found his dreams filled with anything Sirius-related: there was simply no escaping it. Now, as he came back to get easy to go to school, he very much wished the the holidays could have lasted much longer.

Watching her son as he waged his mental battle, Remus' mother sighed softly, drawing her son into her arms.

"It'll be fine, love," she whispered to his ear, "I'm confident you'll do the right thing by him."

Panic rushed through Remus' body like a bullet, "What do you mean?"

Pulling back to look at her agitated child, she laughed gently; soft chimes echoing through the area, "I spoke to your father."

Though he had suspected this was the case, Remus couldn't help the additional tremor.

"Hey," she went on, "It was I who sent him to talk to you in the first place, so you needn't look so horrified. Mothers know these things."

A crease lined Remus' brow, "Was the Horace story true, though?"

She nodded, "I thought he might tell you that story. But yes, I was there-"

"With Sirius' father?" Remus accused.

This time, it was his mother's turn to look unsettled, "It was strictly business."

"That's what Gideon says when I have to kick him and some girl out of a classroom on my prefect rounds," he noted dryly, partly smirking.

"Enough about me, anyway," she chuckled, "You need to get your things onto the train."

Remus and his father proceeded to heave the case onto the train, though Remus turned to address his parents from the doorway, just before the train pulled off.

"You don't mind, then, about me being..."

John was the first to shake his head, "Remus, son, we've become used to you being other things before now. It doesn't change anything, where your preferences lie."

"And you think Sirius will understand this?"

"Just think carefully," his mother hurried to say as the whistle blew, "And keep calm."

"Good luck," John smiled, stepping back with his wife as they waved Remus off.

#~#~#~#~#~#

"Anything from the trolley?" The usual young lady asked, peering into Remus' carriage.

Remus surveyed the food available, he'd been looking forward to a great piece of a pumpkin pasty for a while.

"Why not?" he asked himself aloud, causing her to smile in amusement, "I think I'll have a pumpkin pasty, and a- oh, hold on..."

Pretending to check his pockets for money he knew he would never find - even if his pockets didn't have holes in them - Remus silently hoped she would go to the next carriage.

"Left your money in your case?" she asked, not looking in the slightest bit annoyed with him.

" It seems so," he laughed with her, "It's okay, I'll get something when I get to school."

After a moment, she nodded before walking off.

A relieved sigh left Remus' lips, though it was cut short; he knew straight away he could get anything to eat, yet he was so used to his friends being on the train with him - buying food left right and centre. And Sirius; Sirius who always made sure he had something to eat to stop him 'wasting away'.

Remus sighed.

Sirius.

What was going to happen when he got back to school?

Try as he might, Remus couldn't stop his thoughts as they freely flew across his mind, about Sirius.

It would make for a particularly long journey.

#~#~#~#~#~#

"Are you not having that chicken?" Peter piped up, still holding a bare chicken bone in his hand as he chewed the remaining stringy meat.

James turned to look at Remus, after a moment in which he hasn't answered.

"Remus?" he questioned, amused at the usually alert one of the group.

"Maybe he has what Sirius has," Peter suggested. The commonly loud and cheerful Marauder had been unusually sullen - despite the lack of classes - much to James and Peter's confusion.

"Huh?" Remus asked, coming around as though he'd been doused in water.

"What's in your mind? And didn't say it's exams... You've only been back two seconds."

"I'm fine," Remus answered by default.

"I reckon you're right, Peter. He seems to have caught The Sirius."

Peter gasped in horror, before coughing outrageously as a piece if chicken flew to the back of his throat.

"Why, what's happened?" Remus asked.

"He's just been particularly quiet all week. You'd think, as there were no lessons, he'd have been quite cheerful. But no, he's been down ever since That Night."

"He stayed at school?" Remus asked in surprise.

"Definitely - you think he'd go home after what happened here?" James asked.

In fact, all three of them had decided to remain at Hogwarts over the Easter period: Sirius; to get away from his family. James; because both Lily and Sirius were doing. And finally Peter; simply because the rest of the Marauders were. Remus had gone home because he had arranged it with his parents; he always went home at Easter, particularly as it was so close to his birthday.

"Of course not," Remus answered uneasily.

James nodded, and turned his attention back to the food before him.

Barely a moment had passed, before James asked, "What happened out there, anyway?"

Having assumed the conversation was over, Remus had barely been listening, "Huh?"

"When you went to see him after his mother had... Well, he was pretty torn up before you saw him," James shrugged innocently; but not too innocent.

"Didn't he tell you?" Remus asked, making sure to look anywhere but at James or Peter.

"He said to ask you."

Remus shut his eyes with an inward groan. Of course, he'd been foolish to think he could evade a confrontation with James as well as Sirius.

"Well?" James prompted, waiting with his usual impatient manner.

"Nothing happened," he lied instantly, "I just pressed the issue a bit, he told me some element of the truth and then he decided he didn't want to hide out in Professor McGonagall's room all day."

James, listening intently, nodded.

"He still looked torn when he came back, but there was something different there too-"

"You're better asking him all of this," Remus interrupted, pushing his plate away from himself as he stood up.

"I would if he bothered to leave his bed," James muttered, "Are you going up there now?"

"Briefly," he lied again. He had, in fact, intended to go to his bed and read for a while, but after the revelation of Sirius' whereabouts he decided the library would be better suited. That still meant, however, a trip to the dormitory for the book.

"Tell him to get his arse down here, then," James demanded, to which Remus simply nodded as he walked away from the table.

How could he just waltz into the room and convey James' message without anything more than a quick glance? It was he, after all, that had kissed Sirius. Not the other way around.

As Remus made his way down the Great Hall, he barely glanced at his surroundings, and hardly noticed as he pushed open the door until he came face to face with someone wishing to get through.

"Sorry," Remus muttered, distracted.

"Just move out of my w-"

Remus looked up at the familiar voice. His eyes met Sirius' and they each widened in surprise.

"Erm...James is waiting for you," he managed to squeak.

Sirius shrugged, "He's been waiting all week."

With little more than a non-committal sound, Remus walked around Sirius, "I'm going to go to the library."

"Of course you are," Sirius noted dryly.

Raising his eyebrows briefly, Remus issued a half smile.

"Mind if I join?" Sirius asked, letting the Great Hall door fall closed.

Really, Remus minded very much - but he shook his head anyway. What had his parents said? Keep calm, and think clear... He'd have to try that out.

As though noting his friend's reluctance, Sirius sighed, squinting as they walked by a large window, "It's just...we need to talk."

Even at the brief glance the Windows's light offered, Remus could easily note the dark circles beneath Sirius' eyes and couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible.

"Yeah," he agreed, averse, "I guess we do."

* * *

**To be continued...**


	6. A Sincere Apology

Hello,

It's been quite some time, I know. And though I would love to say the wait is over...it isn't just yet; but it will be.

I write this as I lay in bed, lost in the thoughts which have plagued and dragged me down over the last year or so. But I must conclude that however low my mental and physical health deteriorate, I will complete this story. I did promise it, after all.

As I say, I felt I ought to write this as I have offered little explanation over my absence. Though I must say this: the absence may have been substantially long, but I will get a chapter to you soon. It lies half written in my iPad notes as we speak, though that means little (after all, it has been there for quite some time already) I will find the will and...well, whatever it takes to get the story written I shall do it.

On a related (and much more cheerful) note, I am off to the Studio Tour of London, next week. The break, as I see it, (or even the train journey) may provide a subtle means for this story to continue.

Here's to hoping it does.

And now I must thank you all: for both the kind words in the reviews over time, and for not spamming my inbox with demands for a completed story. Really, I could not have asked for a better group of readers.

Looking forward to writing for you again (if you want me to, that is, and if you haven't all vanished...)

I hope you have all been doing good, useful and fun things with your time.

I feel sure we'll meet again soon. Until then, mischief managed.

-LoonyLoopyLupin96


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